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Cathaoirleach of Kerry County Council, Cllr Michael O’Shea. Photo by Dominick Walsh
THE Cathaoirleach of Kerry County Council, Cllr Michael O’Shea will attend a number of engagements in New York and Boston next week as part of a St Patrick’s Day visit to the United States.
Cllr O’Shea will attend a breakfast hosted by the Mayor of New York, Bill de Blasio and meet with the Mayor of Boston, Marty Walsh.
He will also have a number of meetings with senior civic, business, tourism and political leaders as well as representatives of the Irish community in the US.
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Cllr O’Shea, who will be accompanied by Kerry County Council’s Tourism Officer, John Griffin, will walk with the Kerry Patriotic and Benevolent Association in the St Patrick’s Day Parade in New York on 17 March.
The Kerry County Council delegation will meet with the Director of the IDA in North America and the Head of Tourism Ireland in North America, as well as the Permanent Irish Representative to the UN to discuss the Valentia Cable Project bid for UNESCO world heritage status.
Speaking ahead of the week-long visit, Cllr O’Shea said he was honoured as the first citizen of Kerry to represent the county and the Council at events during a period when there is so much focus in the United States on Ireland and the Irish Diaspora.
“St Patrick’s Day gives us a great opportunity to engage with key players in business, tourism and economic development in the United States. At a time when County Kerry is looking for every opportunity to promote the county overseas as a destination to live in and do business, there is no substitute for engaging directly with key leaders and representatives in the US, a country which has contributed so much to economic development and tourism in Kerry,” he said.
“I look forward to my many engagements with figures from the UN, the Irish Consul General, the president of the Irish American Partnership, Mary Sugrue, who is from Caherciveen, and education representatives with a view to enhancing educational links between Kerry and institutions in the US,” he added.
